Editorial: Keep people in plan on state budget

It’s a positive step for Gov. Eliot Spitzer to try and rein in costs by shrinking the rate of increase in his 2008-09 state budget proposal.

Now, legislators need to fight the urge to add more spending, especially at a time when Wall Street – a major source of state revenue – is so volatile and the future is uncertain. That might best be accomplished by keeping the budget process open as leaders address some key proposals being pitched by the governor.

On Tuesday, Spitzer presented a $124.3 billion budget to the Legislature, one that would hold spending growth to about 5 percent, the lowest increase since the mid-1990s. The plan closes a $4.4 billion deficit and addresses declining growth in revenues that have resulted from the slow economy.

Spitzer says his budget makes tough choices as it attempts to bring state spending in line with income growth levels. Republican Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, on the other hand, says the spending plan does not address the real issues that impact New Yorkers, and that Spitzer has failed to deliver on past promises.

Among the concerns leaders need to address as the annual battle unfolds:

* Spitzer says he doesn’t plan to raise taxes, yet 46 “fees” New Yorkers pay would increase under the plan. For instance, the state surcharge on auto insurance would rise from $5 to $20 to help pay for bridge and highway safety initiatives, and real estate closing fees on homes more than $175,000 would go up. Fees are simply taxes in disguise, and, as Bruno argues, raising them lays much of the burden of funding state government on the shoulders of ordinary New York taxpayers.

* Spitzer also proposes changing more than a dozen taxes currently on the books to close what he calls “loopholes.” Caution must be used here not to discourage businesses and individuals from coming to – or staying in – New York state.

* Finally, open the process. Most New Yorkers are clueless about how the budget is finalized, mainly because despite claims of “reform,” most of the negotiating still happens behind closed doors and involves very few people – namely, Spitzer, Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Last year, they promised to end the back-room deal making, but it never happened.

Would an open process draw hundreds of citizen financiers to the Capitol to observe the proceedings? Probably not. But deals made in secret are irresponsible and are rarely in the interest of the taxpayers.

Crafting a state budget in these difficult times requires responsible leadership, and keeping the door open should be an important part of that process.

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